The State
by Jonsheart
Summary: Jaune leaves his normal teenage life for the battlefields of Syria, wanting to help his friend Omar. He joins one of the most feared militant groups in the world, his friends are helpless as he struggles between right and wrong. Inspired by the British 4 part drama The State My first story so please be cool about it, I don't glorify any group or ideology just an interesting story.
1. Chapter 1

The year is 2015, The war in Syria is raging. Thousands of Syrians have been killed, even more are refugees. It is from the ashes of war The Islamic State has grown. They have declared a Caliphate and millions of foreigners have gone to Syria and Iraq to wage jihad.

It was a normal day at Remnant High School, Students were walking the halls, teachers were teaching, and it was a calm atmosphere. One boy was however very visibly distraught. This boy's name was Jaune Arc. He moped around the school and couldn't pay attention in class. His friends were very concerned and decided to approach him at lunch.

Jaune was at lunch with his friends. He just stared into space and picked at his lunch. "Jaune are you alright?" Said his friend Pyrrah. She was a beautiful girl with long red hair in a ponytail. "if there's anything I can do to help, I will." Pyrrah was always willing to help Jaune, she had a big crush on him, everyone knew except the oblivious blonde boy. A girl with short black hair with red tips lurched forward, "Yeah, just say what's wrong and we'll fix it right away!" This was another close female friend of his, Ruby.

"Yeah, Vomit boy, tell us what's the matter, did another girl shoot you down?" This was said by Yang, Ruby's sister and school beauty. She had long blonde hair and a huge bust the guys drooled over. "Don't worry about it guys, I'm fine." Said Jaune with an unconvincing smile. "Just tell us what's the matter Jaune." Said Ren, and Asian boy with long black hair that was in a ponytail with a pink highlight in the bangs, "We will do anything to make you feel better."

"Yeah Jauney! Tell us what you're keeping on the down low!" Yelled Nora the group's red headed girl with too much energy. The other two girls said nothing but remained interested. One was Blake, who had long black hair and wearing a black bow. The other Weiss had long white hair that she kept in a side ponytail as well as a scar over her left eye; something she never has explained to the group.

*Sigh* "Alright you guys win I'll fess up" said Jaune as he put down his fork and looked at his friends. "It's about my friend."

"Wait you have friends other than us? Not bad vomit boy." Giggled Yang

"Please be quiet Yang." Remarked Pyrrah "Please continue Jaune."

"Alright" Jaune took a deep breath and turned to his curious friends "In 2009, my family finally took a trip to Egypt, while we were over there I met an awesome guy named Omar. He wasn't Egyptian, he was Syrian. We became fast friends, then a year later he flew me out to Syria; to his home city of Idlib. He showed me around the city and I met so many nice people." Jaune held back tears as he continued.

"We kept in touch after I left, and then the civil war happened, he kept sending me video of people protesting that were shot, pictures of children dying from gas attacks by the Syrian army. Now I learned he's fighting." Jaune looked at his friends that had shocked looks on their faces.

"What if he's dead! What if he is being tortured by Assad's dogs! I can't just sit here on my ass while he's out there!" Jaune stood up with his fists clenched at his side. Pyrrah put her hand on his arm. "I can't imagine the pain you feel" She comforted "I know you are upset but don't blame yourself for not doing anything."

"We always wish we could help others." Said Blake as she set her book down

Ruby held up one of her precious chocolate chip cookies. "If you want you can have my last cookie, that always makes me feel better when I'm sad."

"Ruby!" Scolded Weiss "His friend could be dead or horribly injured, I don't think cookies are going to help him!"

"Oh...Okay mine then!" Ruby exclaimed as she shoved the cookie in her mouth.

"It's fine guys" Said Jaune standing up "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I'd like to be alone a while." He then got up and dumped his tray, walking out of the cafeteria.

"I feel so bad for him." Lamented Pyrrah "Jaune has always been there for us and now we can't do anything for him." She has a large frown on her beautiful pale face. "Don't worry P-money!" Yelled Yang "Your knight is just going through a tough time, he'll come back to you!"

Pyrrah's face instantly turned beet red. "What do you mean MY KNIGHT!" The whole table erupted in laughter.

The next few days were the same, Jaune moping and his friends trying to cheer him up. Pyrrah comforting him, Ruby offering him cookies, Yang flirting with him, Blake giving him space, Weiss offering to tutor him, Ren trying get him to say stuff about Omar, and Nora saying the craziest ideas that would most surely get them all arrested. This went on and on until Friday.

The gang of friends met up in their usual morning meet up space, the front of the school. They sat on the benches and talked about their weekend plans. "Where's Jaune?"asked Ruby "Isn't he usually one of the first ones at school?"

"Well I haven't seen him" said Ren "We usually ride the bus together, since my car is in the shop, but he wasn't on it this morning."

"I think we should visit him after school" said Pyrrah firmly "He has been oh so depressed over his Syrian friend Omar, he must have taken the day off."

The group agreed when the morning bell rang. They went to their classes and all agreed to meet at Yang and Ruby's house to go visit Jaune together.

They then all went home, changed, and hopped into Yang and Ruby's Uncle Qrow's truck. Yang chose to drive. "I think we should invite Jaune out to the movies." Said Pyrrah "The new X ray and Valve movie just came out."

"Sound good!" Said Nora "I want a big think of popcorn and I'll sneak in a whole bunch of snacks!"

"Nora" sighed Ren "Don't do anything that will get us kicked out."

" 'kay Renny!" Giggled Nora

"We're here! ... What the hell!" Yelled Yang

On the front of the Arc house were at least 4 police cars. Yang pulled up to the drive way and turned off the truck.

"I wonder what's going on" Asked Weiss

They all knocked on the front door and it opened to reveal Jaune's eldest sister Lucy. She had puffy eyes from crying, her long blonde hair kept in a bun.

"Oh God, guys!" She cried as tear slipped out

"What happened!?" Demanded Pyrrah

"It's Jaune!" Lucy cried "He's gone!"

"What do you mean Lucy?" Asked Ruby "Is Jaune okay, where is he?"

Lucy wiped tears and silently said "Jaune packed up some stuff and left in the middle of the night, we haven't seen him since."

"That really doesn't explain the police." Said Ren "Where did he go?"

Lucy look at the pleading look at the pleading eyes of his friends and simply said

"Syria."

Everyone felt their blood run cold.


	2. Chapter 2

Calibri font= English

 _Italic=Arabic_

The bumping of the truck had awakened Jaune. He rubbed his eyes and moaned as he stretched. For a moment he wondered where he was. Then it hit him, he had contacted some of Omar's friends online and they offered to fly him out to Syria in order to fight alongside Omar. Jaune didn't like the idea of killing people but those dog soldiers of Bashar Al-Assad were killing people, raping women and torturing children. Jaune felt he had no right to live in safety in America while Syrians were being butchered. For his whole life Jaune has had others stand up for him, especially with bullies like Cardin Winchester. Now was his turn to fight for others.

The group he had contacted was a strong but feared group. The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-sham (ISIS) had committed so many atrocities and had so many nations attacking it, they were the most feared terrorist group in the world, and he was going to join it. Jaune wasn't a Muslim, but if he had to convert he would. His family were Catholic; his parents were immigrants from France; so, the idea of God wasn't Farfetched. He would do anything for Omar, he was his friend.

"Friends." thought Jaune, "I wonder what the gang back home are doing, I wonder if their wondering where I am?" Jaune sighed and looked at the wall in front of him. "I wish I could have told Pyrrah how I felt about her, but now I'm almost at the Turkish border in the back of a huge truck."

After Jaune took another deep sigh he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw the other person in the back of the truck with him.

"Are you okay Bruv?" Asked the large man. The man was a little taller than Jaune and was muscular, was either Arab or Afghan, had on a shirt, jacket, jeans and sneakers. He also had short black hair and a thin black beard, also he had a British accent.

"what?" Asked Jaune

"I asked if you were okay _Akhi_ (Brother)." Said the large man. "Don't be nervous, we're heading to the _Khilafah_ (Caliphate) _Alhamdulillah_ (All praise is due to Allah)!" The man laughed loudly.

"Sorry about the moping." Apologized Jaune. "I just was thinking about friends and family."

"Don't worry about it Bruv." The man then held out his hand. "My name is Ziyaad Kader, but my _Kunyah_ (Islamic name) is Abu Nidal Al-Britanni."

Jaune took his hand and shook it. "My name is Jaune Arc, and my _Kunyah_ is Abu Anwar Al-Amriki." Jaune then scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm not a Muslim yet, but I plan on converting while I'm there."

" _Ma'shallah_ (God has willed)!" Remarked Ziyaad. "Not even in Al-Sham (Syria) and I already met a brother that isn't a brother yet!" Ziyaad then settled down and looked at Jaune.

"Why are you here anyway?" He asked "Come for the call for Jihad? How about to defend the Muslims from Assad, America, and Russia?"

Jaune took out a small picture and showed it to Ziyaad. It was of a teenage Syrian boy. He was tall, a thin head, short hair and full beard. His smile was radiant and had no fear in it at all.

"This is my old friend Omar, he was involved in the protests back in 2011." Jaune said "Now I don't know where he is, all I know is that he joined the Islamic State and was last seen at the Battle of Kobane fighting Kurdish YPG forces."

Ziyaad stared intently at the photo and had a look of relization. "I know him! that's Abu Hamid Al-Junaid!" Jaune looked at Ziyaad in shock. "What did you say!?"

"Yeah _Akhi_ , Abu Hamid was a brother from Idlib, Syria that was popular on social media, especially Twitter." Ziyaad then looked up at the celling with amazement. "Abu Hamid is a strong Mujahid (Holy Warrior), always posting pics of glorious battles and life under the Sharia."

Jaune was about to ask something else when the truck stopped. An old Turkish man opened the door and said " _Quickly, quickly we need to move_!" Ziyaad had a confused look on his face, While Jaune knew what the man said since he had been studying Arabic for a while.

" _Alright we're coming_!" Said Jaune. "Ziyaad it's time to go." So, they both grabbed their bags and hoped out of the truck. They then followed the man to the border fence between Turkey and Syria. There were Turkish soldiers close to their position.

The man led them to an opening in the fence. " _Go in now, the Brothers are waiting for you_!" Said the man quietly." Jaune looked confused " _but what about the soldiers_?"

The man smirked as he held his index finger and thumb together " _I just gave them a border fee a little while earlier_." Jaune instantly got it; a bribe. Many foreign fighters in Syria have done this before.

Jaune and Ziyaad went through the fence and ran forward into Syria. They ran until they couldn't see the border and there was nothing around them except bushes and sand mounds.

They them heard a car engine and looked to see two trucks coming towards them. Men dressed in camo uniforms and black Islamic clothes holding AK-47s. The truck stopped and one man got off and approached them.

The man looked to be in his mid 20s, he had a thick black beard, was obviously Arab and wore camo Islamic Clothing with an Ak-47 over his shoulder. He looked at Jaune and asked him with a clear British accent "Is that you Abu Anwar?"

Jaune nodded and asked in return "Abu Jihad Al-Britanni?" The man broke into a smile and laughted.

He hugged Jaune and then Ziyaad. He motioned for a man wearing a black balaclava to hand him a thermos, to which he poured out a brown liquid.

"Welcome my brothers to _Dawlah Al-Islamiyyah_ (The Islamic State)!" Abu Jihad then handed the cup to Jaune.

"I can't believe We're here dude!" Said Jaune happily and took a swig of the brown liquid, which turned out to be a cold tea. He then handed it to Ziyadd whom also took a swig.

They handed the thermos back and all got into Abu Jihad's truck which departed.

"Well" sighed Jaune "This is it, my new life in the Islamic State, hopefully I'll see Omar."

He then looked out the window at the full moon. "I sure hope everyone back home is doing fine."

Jaune was ignorant of all the pain and worry he was causing back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Calibri font=English

 _Italic= Arabic_

Jaune and Ziyaad sat quietly in the back of the dark truck while Abu Jihad pulled up to a large garage with many militants surrounding it. A man wearing a black Keffiyeh (Arab Scarf) approached the driver's window where Abu Jihad was sitting.

" _Mujahedeen_." Abu Jihad simply said. The man nodded and motioned for the door to be opened. The truck drove through the garage that had been converted into a gate and stopped at a big house. They all got out and went inside. Abu Jihad led them through the house, so Jaune and Ziyyad got a good look around. It was all men with thick beards and camo or black Islamic clothes. Men were on prayer mats conducting evening prayers, men eating and laughing and some either texting or reading the Quran.

They then went to a room that was blocked by a man on a stretcher. He was bleeding heavily in the chest and was breathing hard. Two men were reciting prayers to the men, to which Jaune recognized as a prayer from the Quran that signified that the man was about to die.

Abu Jihad looked at the man with sad eyes and said "Not through here, let's go the other way." So, they all turned around and walking through a different hallway. Abu Jihad then went up to another man and whispered something to him in Arabic. They both walked towards Jaune and Ziyyad.

"This my good friend Abu Hafiz, he doesn't speak much English." Said Abu Jihad. The Man was tall, buff, long hair and long beard. He wore black Islamic clothing and sandals. Janue looked at the serious man and said " _As-salamu alaykum_ (Peace be upon you)." The man replied " _Wa'alaykumu as-salam_ (and upon you, peace)." Abu Jihad then walked past them and said "Well good night then!" Jaune and Ziyaad looked at him in shock and said "Wait, where are you going!?"

"Home." Abu Jihad said simply

"But I thought this was home." Said Jaune

"Huh? No _Akhi_ this house is for the new arrivals, as well as men that can't find women that will marry them, I have my own house bruv." Abu Jihad said

Jaune and Ziyaad both looked nervous.

"Look here." Said Abu Jihad "Abu Hafiz is the _Amir_ (leader) of the house, he'll make sure you don't do anything stupid."

With that Abu Jihad left the house and Both Jaune and Ziyaad were led to separate rooms. In Jaune's room he was in front of a man behind a desk who was writing something and drinking something out of a cup.

"Sit down." Said the man simply. Jaune then sat in the chair in front of the man. The man looked to be about 20 and wore black and had a very thin beard. The man looked up at Jaune and asked "What is your name?"

Jaune stared blankly at the man and asked "My real name or my _Kunyah_?"

"We don't use real names here." The man said firmly.

"Abu Anwar Al-Amriki." Said Jaune

"Ah, you're the friend of Abu Hamid." Said the man

Jaune sat forward and stared intently at the man "Yes, do you know where he is, people on Twitter and WhatsApp said I could find him here."

The man just looked at him and went on with his questions. "Were you born Muslim?"

Jaune sat back frustrated and said "I'm not Muslim, but I plan on converting." The man nodded and continued to write on the paper.

"What are your skills?"

Jaune looked so confused "What do you mean skills?"

The man looked at Jaune and said "So we can figure out how we can best use you."

Jaune look at the man with frustration "Use me? I'm here to fight that's it!"

The man said "do you really think that?"

"Yes" said Jaune frimly

"Well your wrong." The man said dryly. Jaune looked at the man with wide eyes "What do you mean I'm wrong!?"

The man set down his pencil and looked Jaune in the eyes. "You are here to spread the religion of Allah across the living lands, everything else is for the love of _Dunyah_ (the material world)."

Jaune was calm and confused as he was asked the rest of the questions.

Jaune and Ziyaad met up and walked upstairs to where Abu Hafiz was showing them their bedroom. Jaune turned to look at Ziyaad "How was yours?"

Ziyaad looked at Jaune and smiled "Awesome, we got 4 weeks of training then its game on!"

Abu Hafiz motioned to an open door to a room where there were already 4 men sleeping. "You can sleep here tonight." Jaune walked into the room saying " _God bless you_ " to Abu Hafiz, Ziyaad following. They set their stuff down and got ready for bed. Jaune stopped and looked at Ziyaad. "Hey did your guy ask you weird stuff?"

Ziyaad looked at Jaune oddly "No just normal stuff, why?"

Jaune had a worried look on his face. "I think he was trying to trip me up, as if he thought I was a spy." Ziyaad remarked "It's normal _Akhi_ , you're white, American, and not even a Muslim yet." He then sat back and opened his Quran "Spies are always trying to infiltrate the ranks of _Dawlah_ (The State)." June sighed and also sat back taking a drink of water out of his water bottle.

Then the door opened and the man that interviewed Jaune walked in and sat down. "it is time Abu Anwar, you shall be a Muslim." Ziyaad shut his Quran and clapped his hands, " _Alhamdulillah_ Jaune, you're about to become one of us!" Jaune had his hand held by the man and looked at him in the eyes.

"Now repeat after me." Said the man " _Ashhadu an la ilaha illa llah, wa ashhadu an Muhammad rsulu lah_ (I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah)."

Jaune took a deep breath and recited the words. The man let go and said "Welcome to the life of a Muslim Abu Anwar." He handed Jaune a copy of the Quran and turned to Ziyaad "I hope you'll teach him about how to pray and the other duties of a Muslim?"

Ziyaad smiled and said "Of course, you can count on me _Akhi_!" The man then simply nodded and left. Ziyyad turned to Jaune and said "Well Jaune, time to study up on your Quran!" Jaune's face paled as he remembered he was horrible at reciting and memorizing scripture at Mass.

They spent the night studying and reciting Quran and didn't get to sleep until around 4 am. Jaune sat back on his mattress and closed his eyes. "Pyrrah." He thought. "Oh, how I wish you were here." He then thought about everyone else. His parents and sisters, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ren, Nora, and especially Pyrrah. He fell asleep knowing he would never see them again.

Back home in Remnant City USA, a red headed girl was fast asleep in her bed when a tear ran down her face. "Jaune." She quietly said in her sleep "please come home ...I love you."


	4. Chapter 4

Calibri= English

 _Italics= Arabic_

Pyrrah walked into school still half asleep. Ever since the gang had heard that Jaune went to Syria to find Omar, she hadn't been able to sleep, hardly eat, or think. Her grades had been dropping slowly. It had been about 3 days since they had all shown up to Jaune's house only to find police and his distraught family. According to the police officers, Jaune had contacted some currently unknown individuals from central and north Syria that were said to be people smugglers. Most contact had been through WhatsApp, and the app was heavily encrypted. So, it was going to be a while before they would find something on Jaune.

They had all been told to keep quiet on what happened, the last thing the Arc family needed was cameras and news reporters knocking at their door 24/7. Team RWBY and JNPR as they had become to be known around the school were sitting at a big table in the school library during study hall.

"I can't believe Jaune is really gone." Said Ruby sadly. Everyone nodded at Ruby's sad remark.

"There has to be some way we can find out where Vomit Boy is or what he's doing." Replied Yang looking oddly serious for once.

"Yang is right." Said Ren. Everyone turned to him. "We should look on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, even SnapChat."

"I'm okay with Renny's idea if all you other mofos are!" Yelled Nora only to get shushed by the librarian. The group except Pyrrah laughed.

"Don't worry Pyrrah." Comforted Weiss whom put her hand over Pyrrah's under the desk. "Jaune is kind of dense and wacky, but he's reliable and tough, he'll be fine."

Weiss wasn't one to give nice compliments often, particularly to Janue because of his constant date proposals, but after the school dance, when he set her up with Neptune, the school heart throb, she became much nicer towards him.

They all decided to check the internet regularly. Pyrrah stayed up until 1 am looking on as many sites and forum hoping anyone had heard of or had seen Jaune. So far, no dice.

Pyrrah then crawled into bed and fell asleep crying "Jaune please come home... I love you."

Jaune had woken up to Ziyaad shaking him.

"Wake up _Akhi_ , it's time to head off to training, then we can fight the _Kuffar_ (Infidels, Disbelievers)" Said Ziyaad.

Jaune and Ziyaad got dressed and went downstairs where they were stopped by a white Mujahid. He was tall and had a dark blonde beard and no moustache.

"Sorry for the roadblock _Akhim_ (Brothers), but we need to check your bags and electronics." The man seemed to sound either American or Canadian, possibly Dutch.

"Wait, Why?" Asked Jaune, he had thought they had trusted them.

"Sorry." Apologized the man. "But we need to make sure you're not bringing in contraband, like drugs or pornography, so just give us your bags and unlock your phones and laptops."

Jaune and Ziyaad groaned but complied, the sooner they got through this, the faster they would be able to get to training. Many men went through Jaune's clothing while the white Mujahid went through his phone and laptop. An Iraqi Mujahid motioned for Jaune to come to him. Jaune complied and the Iraqi Mujahid pulled out an entire thing of condoms.

"Oh, that was just if I got stopped or something!" Laughed Jaune.

The man's brow furrowed in confusion, the man clearly didn't understand English. Jaune's smile fell and he translated.

" _My cover story, just partying_." Jaune then pointed at his swim trunks. " _At the beach_."

The man smiled slightly and nodded.

"Excuse me _Akhi_ , can you come here?" It was the white Mujahid. Jaune stepped towards the man and was shown his phone. It was a picture of his mother.

"That's just my mother." Replied Jaune.

"We don't allow pictures of uncovered women here." The man gave Jaune a smile of sympathy. "Perhaps you should delete it as well as other photos of uncovered women, its better this way." He then handed Jaune his phone.

Jaune took a long loving look at the photo of his mother and deleted it and then went through deleting photos of all uncovered girls, including from the RWBY and JNPR gang.

He stopped when he got to a photo of Pyrrah. It was a pic of her at her 17th birthday, she was smiling and blushing while she had a red velvet cake in front of her. With tears threatening to spill he deleted the last image of his secret love from his phone.

"Well this kind of sucks." Thought Jaune. "Now I'll never really see anyone ever again."

Jaune handed back his phone and waited for them to finish checking his bag and laptop.

Everything checked out fine so Jaune and Ziyaad went outside to find a truck waiting for them, with foreign looking men on it. They climbed in back and set their backs on the ground. The truck then departed to the inner city of Raqqa; the capital of the Islamic State.

The men looked around in amazement. People shopping for goods, people praying, women in full niqab veiling walking together or with male escorts. It truly was heaven on earth for all conservative devout Muslims. There were black flags and posters everywhere in English and Arabic.

The men introduced themselves and got to know each other's background. They chose to identify as their Kunyahs instead of real names. The black man sitting on Jaune's right was named Abu Ayoub Al-Britanni, he was an ex gangster from London that found Islam and decided to use his street smarts in order to help his Muslim brothers. Ziyaad and Jaune sat next to him and introduced themselves and their reasons. They felt sympathy for Jaune wanting to look for Omar. The man across from Ziyaad was Abu Lut Al-Almani, a portly white convert from Germany, he grew distant from Germany's progressive and liberal society and wanted order and decency. The man across from Jaune was named Abu Abbas Al-Nederlandi, a Dutch man with a thin body and long brown hair kept down except for some in the back kept up in a small ponytail. He was also a white convert and got sick of seeing Assad's crimes on the Syrian people.

The last man was an enigma. He was also white and simply introduced himself as Abu Ibrahim Al-Britanni and that he was from Glasglow, Scotland. His background was too sensitive to share he said. They had just decided to leave it alone. By the time they had finished introducing themselves they had reached a huge compound that they would be living and training for the next 4 weeks.

There were men in tan Islamic clothes and brown boots training as well as a big pool for the recruits' relaxation. "Hell yeah!" Yelled Abu Ayoub "there's our 5-star Jihad!" They all fist bumped and went inside where they were told to change into the tan Islamic clothes and get ready for target practice. Jaune was nervous, He had managed to pray right and read most of the Quran thanks to Ziyaad, but he had never fired a gun in his life. "Well I'll learn now." Thought Jaune. "Who knows, I might be good at it!"

He wasn't

They were all lying on their stomachs while firing AK-47s at a stone wall with silhouettes painted on it. Everyone one was hitting the silhouettes on the head and chest while he couldn't even hit the target once. He looked over at Ziyaad holding a big machine gun and absolutely killing it.

He sighed and then heard a voice "squeeze, don't jerk" It was Abu Ibrahim. The Scot gave Jaune a look at went back to firing.

Jaune took his advice and simply squeezed the trigger hitting the silhouette in the chest. He stared in shock and looked at Abu Ibrahim who was hitting the target with every bullet. How did he know? Where did he figure out to fire a gun? Britain had very strict gun control, no way he shot a gun back home.

They all went inside the compound to eat and then all cleaned their dishes. Jaune stood in-between Ziyaad and Abu Ibrahim. He turned to him and asked "where did you learned to fire a gun?" The Scot stopped drying his plate and said "I don't think we should be talking about our past lives like this." Jaune didn't let it go.

"Were you a soldier?"

The Scot froze, and Jaune knew he hit the nail on the head. Ziyaad turned to Abu Ibrahim with angry eyes. "You aren't like any Muslim I've ever seen _Akhi_."

To this Abu Ibrahim set his plate down and left the room. There was a tense atmosphere that was broken by Abu Ayoub asking Jaune "Is it true your friend Omar is really Abu Hamid Al-Junaid?" Jaune turned to Ziyaad with an annoyed look, of course Ziyaad blabbed.

Jaune responded "Yeah that's right." Abu Ayoub smiled and even Abu Abbas turned to join the conversation.

"He's the reason I'm here." Said Abu Ayoub. Jaune looked at the black man in confusion. "How do you figure?"

"Reading his post and other stuff innit." Abu Ayoub looked at Jaune with sympathetic eyes. "He talked about an American friend that he always thought of, he must have meant you."

Jaune stared at the black man with uncertain eyes. If Omar thought that much about him, then why hadn't he been in contact. They all went back to washing dishes. They then went back outside for more training.

Their instructor, a 40-year-old Syrian man with a black beard had them all sit on the ground facing him. He held out a belt that had wires on it.

"Can anybody tell me what this is?" He asked in perfect English.

Abu Abbas quickly answered "A Dogma belt."

"Good" the Instructor replied. "Now come up here."

Abu Abbas stood up and the instructor put the belt around the Dutch man's waist.

"It's a dummy, right?" Asked Abu Abbas nervously

"No, of course it's not a dummy, why would we model with a dummy?" The instructor asked condescendingly

He held out the remote and asked "First use?" Then turned to Abu Abbas.

"Who me?" The Dutch man asked. "Yes." Replied the instructor "You."

Abu Abbas laughed "To blow yourself up!"

Everyone laughed, including Jaune.

"Are you done?" Asked the instructor silencing everyone. He asked again "First use?"

Abu Ibrahim raised his hand and replied "As a military tactic, you send in martyr brigades before a charge to blow up walls and weaken defenses."

The instructor smiled and said "Yes, and they will be green birds in _Jannah_ (Paradise, Heaven) _Insha'Allah_ (God willing)."

He took the belt off Abu Abbas while continuing to talk. "Don't get close to the brother next to you, his greatest wish is to become _shahid_ (martyred) in the way of Allah _Subhan wa ta'allah_ (May he be praised and exalted), so don't focus on materialistic thing you think you need, just focus on your _din_ (religion) and you will be victorious."

Abu Abbas sat back down with a disturbed look on his face.

"Oh, shit." Thought Jaune. "This is starting to become both exciting and terrifyingly real."


	5. Chapter 5

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

It was late at night and since it was a hot day Jaune and the other foreign men in his unit decided to swim at the compound's pool. They carried 2 lanterns since the power had to be off and went down to the pool. Jaune and Ziyaad started to undress when Abu Lut said " _Astaghfirullah_ (Seek forgiveness from Allah)."

"What?" Asked Jaune

"It's _Sunnah_ (The way of the Prophet) to start with the left shoe when undressing." Replied Abu Lut.

"Converts, man." Laughed Ziyaad "They think they know more than the rest of us Bruv!"

Abu Lut said nothing in return as he sat down and said " _Bismillah_ (In the name of Allah)" as he removed his left shoe.

The group then jumped into the pool splashing around and swimming, relaxing as the memories of today's training was far from their mind. Finally, a game of chicken broke out with Jaune and Abu Ibrahim emerging victorious. Jaune and Ziyaad got out and started to dry themselves while everyone else when back to splashing each other and swimming.

"I'm not sure about Captain America over there." Said Ziyaad harshly motioning his head towards Abu Ibrahim, whom was swimming laps.

"Why? there's loads of converts man." Replied Jaune confused

"Yeah, but a soldier?" Barked Ziyaad "How many Muslims do you think he's killed _Akhi_?"

Jaune said nothing as he gazed one more time towards Abu Ibrahim contemplating what Ziyaad had said.

There was an awkward pause before Jaune turned to Ziyaad asking "So, what do you reckon?" Motioning his head towards the compound "Deal or no deal?"

Ziyaad followed his head towards the compound and replied "Yeah, it cool."

Jaune smiled and said "Yeah, we're the Rambo brothers!"

They both laughed and Jaune said "I don't know about your brains if we get into a situation where we have to think."

Ziyaad laughed at the jab at his character and stood up picking up Jaune bridal style.

"Yeah but what about this bruv!?" He yelled loudly, the rest of their unit laughing at the sight.

Jaune groaned playfully as he was tossed back into the pool, he emerged and laughed along with his brothers in arms.

"I think this will be better than I expected." Thought Jaune.

They played in the pool until late, then they went to bed wondering what the training will be like tomorrow.

 **Week 2 of training**

It had been a week and training had been relatively easy, just firing at targets and being showed how to get an injured brother while under fire. Now they were cleaning and putting back together their AK-47s. Their instructor, the 40-year-old Syrian man with excellent English, was talking and walking while they fiddled with their guns saying "Sisters may follow you, admire you, praise you on Facebook, but ignore the temptations!" Yelled the Instructor. "I know it's hard, women are the adornment of this world, a man is tempted to seek her attention." He paused to turn and looked at the men. "But, a woman in this life is defective!" He yelled loudly "She carries urine and stool wherever she goes, she bleeds for an entire week every month! She-"

"FINISHED!" Jaune yelled interrupting him.

Everyone including the instructor looked in shock that Jaune had completely cleaned and assembled his Kalashnikov first, they had only just started!

The instructor looked impressed and continued his lecture as he walked towards Jaune.

"She has many deficiencies, so ignore these temporary delights." He walked to Jaune and slowly broke apart his gun again. The instructor then took out a tan rag and wrapped it around Jaune's head covering his eyes.

"Again!" The instructor replied patting Jaune on the back.

Janue sighed hard as he tried to assemble his gun again without being able to see.

The instructor resumed his lecture "So remember, you as a mujahid are known to 72 women, 72 women that are watching you!" He walked around the men telling them about their 72 virgins they will receive. "They are watching you, staring at you every minute of the day!" He smiled "Yes the _Hur al-ayn_ (Virgins in Paradise), girls with the most perfect eyes, most perfect figures, and most perfect manners, Girls that know no man but you, who follows no man but you, and who likes no man but you!"

The instructor walked over to Jaune and saw that he was almost done. He then took the gun out of Jaune's hands and began to again take it apart saying "Remember, _Shaytan_ (Satan) works his hardest while you are on this blessed path. He finished taking apart Jaune's Kalashnikov yelling "Again!"

Jaune sighed heavily again, just what was this man's problem with him. Was it because he was a convert, was it because he's American, he didn't know.

"I hope this week doesn't end up being a shit show" he thought with hope.

It was.

The entire week was assembling Kalashnikovs and studying battle strategy, and Jaune seemed to excel at all of it. He also excelled at having the instructor being a hard ass at him the whole time. He just hoped that next week would be a little easier.

 **Week 3 of training**

This week was religious training. They all recited Quran and were taught lessons about Islamic history and culture. Jaune was just happy that it was something not physically straining, he was also starting to grow a beard! It was thin, but it was coming in nice, mostly around his cheeks and upper lip. It was nothing compared to Ziyaad's bushy black beard.

They had taken a break from reading and studying and were instead being shown one of the Islamic State's violent videos. Two men in orange jumpsuits were kneeling before two Mujahideen wearing camo uniforms and black balaclavas holding knives, while a _nasheed_ (Islamic Hymn) was playing. The men were then forced to the ground and had the knives placed on their throats. Jaune turned his head down while the sound of the men having their throats slit blared through the TV speakers.

The video was paused and a voice said "You don't like it."

Jaune looked up at everyone around him staring and the instructor holding the TV remote.

"It's okay." He assured "It's your _fitnah_ (trial), So why do we behead the _Kuffar,_ all it does is fill the enemy with fury, makes it more likely for America to send its army to fight us, it's stupid No?" He paused "It's not stupid, we want them to send their armies, we want them to defeat us, The _Hadith_ (teachings of the prophet) teaches us that our army will be defeated, many brothers will die and the rest of us will take refuge in Jerusalem, and when we will nearly be defeated, Jesus will come, and _Isa Ibn Maryan_ (Jesus, son of Mary) will come to the Minaret in Damascus clad in white sheets with two angels on either side of him, he will lead our army to victory and our enemies will be totally destroyed, everything has been foretold by almighty Allah, and we are following his plan step by step." The instructor then became solemn. "Many of us will not be here to see it, but I swear, _Wallahei_ (I swear to Allah) we will meet again as green birds in _Jannah_!"

Jaune sat quietly contemplating what his instructor had said.

"In order to win, we have to lose?" He thought confused "Is this what Omar listened to when he was training?"

 **Week 4 of training**

The last week of training went by fast and on the last day Jaune was alone in his room staring out the window lost in thought.

"You okay bro?" Said a voice breaking Jaune's concentration

Jaune looked up at Abu Jihad, whom he hadn't seen since he first came here 4 weeks ago.

"Yeah man I'm good." Jaune replied.

Abu Jihad then walked into the room, gave Jaune a hug, and sat down next to him on the bed.

"You having second thoughts?" He asked softly.

"No way, man." Jaune replied defensively "It's just a lot to take in."

Abu Jihad nodded "Just think, your buddy Omar took the very same steps you took, he was also a pretty good shot, and I'm told so are you."

"Hell yeah!" Jaune replied happily "Best in my class!" It was true, Jaune was the best shooter in his unit, even better than Abu Ibrahim, who had professional training from the British army.

Abu Jihad and Jaune talked for a while until it was time for the men to line up and receive their own Ak-47s, signifying the end of their training and the official start of their _jihad_. One by one the men walked forward and were handed a Kalashnikov and some magazines. When it was Jaune's turn he walked forward and with a smile of pride, the instructor handed him his AK-47. After grabbing some magazines, he walked over to his unit, hugging Ziyaad and the rest of his brothers. Every man in the room pointed their index fingers up towards the sky and yelled at the top of their lungs " _Allahu Akbar_ (God is great)!"

Jaune would now begin his first steps towards his goal- finding Omar.

"I'm coming Omar." He thought "Just wait for me."


	6. Chapter 6

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

Jaune and his comrades had 3 days rest before they were sent to the frontline. They were currently standing in the back of a truck with a big gun attached to it. They were currently moving to the front. They had all been given new clothes to choose from and Jaune chose to wear a black Islamic shirt that stopped just past his pockets; he kept the top button undone to show his neck. He also wore black pants and black boots, as well as black fingerless combat gloves, he also wore a black combat vest that had extra magazines and some medicine. Finally, he currently had a black keffiyeh (Arab scarf) wrapped around his face concealing it except for his eyes. Ziyaad was wearing the exact same thing except his gloves were olive green, he had an olive green keffiyeh wrapped around his neck concealing the lower half of his face and had a black prayer cap on his head. The rest of their unit (consisting of only the foreign men they had been with) wore similar back clothing.

Jaune was currently editing his Twitter account on his phone when a voice asked "Better than flipping burgers, yeah!?"

It was Abu Ayoub

"What!?" Replied Jaune not completely hearing him

Abu Ayoub pulled down the black scarf from his face and repeated himself "Better than flipping burgers, yeah!?"

Jaune smirked underneath his keffiyeh.

"I don't know you tell me!" He jabbed playfully

The men all laughed and Jaune pointed his phone towards the men and they all instantly posed for the photo, pointing their index fingers in the air.

" _Allahu Akbar_!" They all yelled as Jaune snapped the picture.

He then uploaded it to his Twitter account, they were all masked so it wouldn't get them identified.

They all got to the frontline where they all walked up to the house where they would stay. They all decided to unmask and Jaune tied his keffiyeh around his head. He had finally grown a nice beard, it was still kind of thin but had come in fully. Again, it was nothing compared to Ziyaad's beard; which was thick and bushy. They followed their new commander, a pale skinned Iraqi named Abu Omar. He was tall, buff and had long black hair tied back in a white and black keffiyeh. He had a thick black beard and a deep commanding voice. When they got to the entrance of the house, many men came out so they could switch shifts with Jaune's unit. They all exchanged handshakes; with Abu Abbas taking a considerable amount of time, constantly introducing himself and saying where he was from. Many men just nodded confused; they obviously didn't speak any English.

They finished with the pleasantries and went inside, setting down their stuff. Abu Omar put a stick of wood in the air near the window they were all currently kneeling under. In under 3 seconds a bullet shot it out of his hands scaring Jaune and his unit. Abu Omar spoke Arabic and Jaune translated

"He says our job it to guard this window and if we see anything we shoot." Jaune said

Abu Omar said something else that confused Jaune and he pointed to the window.

Abu Ibrahim instantly got what he was saying and said "He's saying put your gun in the notch so you don't get your head blown off."

Abu Omar then put his AK-47 in the notch on the window and fired a round at the enemy position, only to get bullets back hitting the side of the house. He then gave a thumbs up and left for another part of the house. Jaune and his unit took turns looking out the window until it was night. Most of the unit went to bed except Jaune and Ziyaad, who was sitting near the window and holding a big machine gun. The opposing side was yelling at the Islamic State's position.

Ziyaad was looking through a pair of binoculars and asked Jaune "What the hell are they saying?"

Jaune stopped eating out of his can of meat and stopped to listen. "I don't know." The men were far away so he couldn't decipher it.

Ziyaad put down his binoculars and fired a few rounds at the enemy side and said "That should shut them up."

It only made them yell louder and angrier.

Jaune set down his can and stood up.

"Hey look at this!" Jaune pulled up his shirt exposing the explosive belt around his waist. "Could you imagine walking into school with this on?" He then dropped his shirt down "They would shit themselves!" Ziyaad and him laughed.

Ziyaad went back to looking out the window with an emotionless expression on his face.

Jaune looked at his brother in Islam and asked softly "Are you homesick, do you miss England?"

Ziyaad sighed and replied "I just feel bad for not saying goodbye to my mum but that's about it, I'm never going back to that _Kafir_ (Infidel) dumping ground Bruv."

Jaune took a bite of food and went silent. Ziyaad turned around and asked Jaune "Do you think it's true, you know, about all this last day stuff?"

Jaune took a moment to think and said "Well it's in the _Hadith_."

Ziyaad looked almost frightened and said "So the world really is coming to an end."

Jaune just sighed and replied "I don't know man, but everything _Dawlah_ had said has come true." Ziyaad then got a confused look on his face.

"So, there's going to be a big battle and in order for us to win we have to lose?" He asked puzzled.

Jaune then replied "In the _Hadith_ it says there will be a big battle with the Roman army, and many scholars think that mean Turkey, and Turkey means NATO."

They didn't say anything else and simply went to bed, Abu Ibrahim took his turn to watch the window.

Jaune woke up in the morning when light hit his face. He saw that Abu Lut was watching the window and everyone else was asleep. He walked up to Abu Lut and asked "So, did you see anything?"

"No." He replied "It's been silent like the grave."

Jaune nodded and noticed something shiny in Abu Lut's pocket. He took it out and saw that Abu Lut had wrapped his phone in tin foil.

"What is this?" Jaune asked.

"This." Abu Lut said taking back his phone "Keeps the _Kuffar_ from tricking us."

"Yeah right." Replied Jaune "There is no signal."

"There is." Said Abu Lut silently. Jaune's eyes went wide.

"Really!?" He exclaimed excitedly. Abu Lut said nothing as he went back to watching the enemy position.

Jaune then quietly left the house, going out the back. When he got outside he looked at the barren wasteland around him. He sighed and took out his phone. He looked at his contacts and contemplated whom to call. He scrolled down until he saw Pyrrah's photo and number. Jaune pressed the call button and put the phone next to his ear. He heard ringing

Beep

Beep

Beep

Until he heard someone pick up "Hello?" The voice asked quickly. It was Pyrrah.

Jaune was silent and was at a loss for words until Jaune heard his name.

"Jaune?" Pyrrah asked quietly and with a hopeful voice. Jaune sighed and replied "Hello Pyrrah."

Jaune then heard Pyrrah reply quickly "Oh my god Jaune, we have been looking for you everywhere, where are you?"

Jaune cut off her rant and asked "Who is there with you?"

"No one." Replied Pyrrah "What do you mean?"

"Are the police there?" Asked Jaune.

Pyrrah responded with "Police aren't here, but they were at your house a few weeks ago, they said you went to Syria, please tell me that isn't true!"

Jaune took a deep breath and said "Look Pyrrah, this isn't easy for me to say... I'm in Syria fighting with the Islamic State; you pry know them better as ISIS."

The phone fell silent until Pyrrah yelled back "WHAT! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME JAUNE!"

Jaune held his head low as if he was a child being scolded by his mother.

Pyrrah continued "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR FAMILY, TO ALL OF US!"

Jaune heard Pyrrah start to cry as she screamed "STOP THIS NOW, COME HOME TO US, TO ME!"

Jaune was about to respond when he heard gunfire coming from the front of the house.

"Jaune, what was that, are you alri-" Jaune had cut off the phone call and ran inside.

He saw his unit firing their Kalashnikovs at the enemy and ran to grab his. Abu Ibrahim looked at Jaune and yelled "AND WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU!?"

Jaune grabbed his gun and responded with "TAKING A SHIT WHAT DO YOU THINK!?"

They all continued to shoot at the enemy. Jaune felt his heart beat fast, his ears where ringing and he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was this what soldiers felt in battle? Jaune knew he might die in battle, but nothing could have prepared him for the fear and adrenaline rush of battle. People were trying to kill him! And he was trying to kill them!

A man came rushing in and yelled "WE HAVE TO RETREAT, GO GO GO!"

This was good enough for Jaune and they all started to get up until they heard someone scream "FUCK!" Everyone turned to see Abu Abbas on the ground. The Dutch man was bleeding from the chest and neck; he wasn't moving. Abu Ibrahim took out some bandages and tried to stop the bleeding. They all looked on in concern until Abu Ayoub looked out the window and yelled "RPG, GET THE FUCK DOWN!" Everyone jumped to the ground when an RPG went through the window and hit the wall sending dust and rubble everywhere. Thankfully it looked as if no one was hurt, except for Abu Abbas. They left the house and ran to a truck that was waiting for them. They all jumped in and set Abu Abbas on the floor. Abu Ibrahim was still trying his best to stop the bleeding. Jaune asked him "Will he be alright?"

Abu Ibrahim just looked at Jaune with anger. Jaune got frustrated and asked "If you have something to say, them just say it."

Abu Ibrahim simply said "Nothing, I just hope nobody was fucking stupid enough to be using a phone back there."

Jaune was confused at the accusation until they heard a big explosion behind them. They turned to see that the building they were in had been hit by an airstrike! Jaune went quiet in realization, the enemy must have picked up his phone signal and called in an airstrike while infantry shot at them! Ziyaad turned to Jaune and asked "Hey, what's he talking about _Akhi_?"

Jaune just shook his head and replied "It's nothing."

Their truck stopped at a hospital and they all ran inside carrying Abu Abbas. Fellow Islamic State Mujahideen were lying on tables and on the ground bleeding and moaning in pain. Abu Abbas was still bleeding heavily but had stopped moaning. Abu Omar started arguing with a doctor, Jaune listened as they argued over which Mujahideen were in more critical danger. Abu Ibrahim put his fingers on Abu Abbas's neck and yelled "SET HIM DOWN!" They complied and Abu Ibrahim started to pump Abu Abbas's chest.

He had stopped breathing.

Abu Ibrahim did this over and over until Abu Omar put his arm on his shoulder and shook his head. Abu Ibrahim complied and stopped performing CPR. Jaune and his unit just stared at Abu Abbas's lifeless body, he stopped bleeding and his face was white. His eyes were almost shut and had no life in them, his mouth was slightly open and had blood streaks down his chin where he had coughed up blood.

He was dead.

And it was all Jaune's fault.

 **10:00 pm**

Jaune and his unit were transported back to the house they all shared and settled back down. Jaune went into Abu Ibrahim's room where he was rubbing some black ink on a combat vest stained with blood.

"Is that his?" Jaune asked referring to Abu Abbas.

"Yeah." Abu Ibrahim replied

Jaune continued to watch and asked "Are you trying to cover up the blood?"

The Scot dryly replied "We wear black, don't we?"

Jaune was silent again before he said "You were right, I was using my phone it was stupid."

Abu Ibrahim looked at Jaune and said nothing.

"What should I do?" Pleaded Jaune.

"Do?" Asked the Scot "Honestly nothing, Abu Abbas is in _Jannah_ now, he doesn't care."

He then took a sip of water and continued "but I don't think everyone else would appreciate dying because of your stupidity, not the _Shuhada_ (martyrdom) they probably dreamed of."

There was an awkward silence when Jaune asked another question "I don't get it, the British army, like what are you doing here?" Jaune paused "No offense."

The Scot laughed and replied "None taken _Akhi_ , let's be honest, you think I'm a spy."

Jaune shook his head and said "I don't know."

Abu Ibrahim gave Jaune a blank stare and replied "It's about as likely as you coming here to fight and achieve glory just cause your buddy Omar is doing it."

Jaune looked at the Scot in frustration "that's not why I'm here okay!"

They fell silent and Jaune went into a deep state of contemplation

"Just why am I here?"


	7. Chapter 7

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

Jaune and Ziyaad decided moping about the house wouldn't do them any good so they decided to leave the house and walk through the streets of Raqqa. They greeted fellow Mujahideen and chose to go to the local internet café. When they passed a house of Mujahideen Jaune got annoyed.

"Hey, how come they have power and we don't?" He barked

Ziyaad simply said "They brought their own generator _Akhi_."

They entered the internet café and Ziyaad went to a computer and signed into Facebook and Askfm. Jaune got them both some chilled tea and looked at Ziyaad's computer screen. He was talking to girls and was telling them about all the food and provisions they had in the Islamic State.

"You giving them all your bedroom tips?" Jaune joked

Ziyaad chuckled and scrolled up on his Facebook chat revealing he had posted a picture of himself unmasked, in full combat gear.

"Hey you should cover your face." Jaune warned

Ziyaad replied "They aren't going to come unless they see my face Bruv."

Jaune laughed and said "They aren't going to come period when they see your ugly mug fam!"

"Back home I was a prince with the ladies." Remarked Ziyaad

Jaune just smirked and shook his head, they needed this after losing Abu Abbas and suffering their first defeat in battle.

The next day they were woken up by their comrades and went downstairs to reveal that men from the Islamic State's media wing had come to film the foreign fighters walking and interacting with the citizens. The man that had interviewed Jaune was also there. This made Jaune nervous because he thought that he still wasn't trusted.

Just what was wrong with the higher ups?

They first filmed in a hospital where children were in beds bloodied and covered in bandages. Jaune was furious and sad to see that these children were harmed by the Assad regime as well as Western powers. In the few short weeks he was here, he realized all the news reports in America were false. They had lied about _Dawlah_ and this was the proof of America's evil Satanic Crusade against the Muslims. Jaune reminded himself he was a Muslim now, so he would fight and die for his people. Jaune and his unit gave out pieces of candy to all the injured children and gave them hugs. They left the hospital feeling more determined to fight the _Kuffar_.

They were now walking through the streets of Raqqa being filmed playing with children. They stopped in front of a shop were a group of civilian men were waiting for them. Jaune held a microphone and began to ask the men questions.

" _How is your life here in the Caliphate_?" Jaune asked

An old man in a scarf replied " _It's good, very good_."

Many men joined in saying how happy they were and how the Caliphate is a paradise on Earth.

Jaune then directed the microphone to a middle-aged man wearing brown Islamic clothing and had glasses.

" _Alhamdulillah_." The man said " _Dawlah_ has brought order and certainty."

Jaune was shocked that this man spoke English.

"The whole world has abandoned us." The man continued "We only have Allah and the Sharia."

He motioned for Jaune to come inside his shop. It appeared to be a Pharmacy. Jaune was handed a couple bottles of crème.

"How much?" Asked Jaune

The man laughed and replied "Nothing, you defend us my friend."

Jaune nodded and put the bottles in his pocket. They then went outside and began to film Abu Ayoub, who preceded to shoot his Kalashnikov into the air.

"Most of you boys back home haven't seen this yet." He said to the camera. "You wasting your time lounging on the block back home with your hands in your pockets, where are you when the women are getting raped in the jails of the dirty _Kuffar_?" He proceeded to get even more fired up. "Where are you when the children are getting slaughtered? SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!" He shot his gun one last time. "FEAR ALLAH! FEAR ALLAH ALL OF YOU!"

Jaune turned around to see the English-speaking Pharmacist being lectured by the film crew. Did this man do something wrong?

Later after the filming Jaune returned to the Pharmacy and put the bottles of crème on the counter

"I've come to return these, I'd rather you sold them." He said "No offence of course."

The Pharmacist nodded and Jaune said "I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble by being here."

The man just shrugged and put the crème bottles away and offered Jaune coffee. Jaune accepted and followed the man to the back of the store. He saw a photo of an uncovered woman on a desk. He picked it up and admired how beautiful the woman was.

"You know all Pharmacist have to take a reeducation course." The man said breaking Jaune's concentration. "If you don't they close you down; they lecture you about you beard, the length of your trousers, and how far apart your feet must be during prayer." The man then smirked "All important things when running a Pharmacy." He finished sarcastically.

Jaune gave the Pharmacist a blank stare and said "It's important for all Muslims."

"Of Course." The man replied "Then a committee decides whether or not you passed or failed."

"Looks like you passed." Jaune said stating the obvious.

The man nodded poured the coffee into two cups and said "Coffee is probably forbidden but what can I do?" The man handed Jaune his cup "I'm addicted."

Jaune stared at the cup of coffee, he didn't care much for the stuff back home.

"Please, you must accept my hospitality." The man pressured "It's an obligation in Islam, also I will be very offended." The man smiled signifying he was joking. This man's snarky sense of humor reminded him of Yang, only a lot less bad puns and sexual harassment. Jaune took the cup and began to drink it, it wasn't half bad. The man's smile fell.

"Someone informed on me." He said explaining the berating he got earlier "My wife is Christain you see."

Jaune felt uncomfortable, according to the Sharia; Christians could live in the Caliphate if they paid an extra tax. There had been rumors that Christians had fled persecution but Jaune had a tough time believing that since _Dawlah_ had shown nothing but good will towards him.

"What happened?" He asked

"Nothing." The man replied "She managed to flee and they've had their eyes on me ever since."

Jaune asked softly "Is she okay?" The man nodded "Yes, she is in a camp in Turkey."

"You didn't go with her?" He asked in shocked. "Why not?"

He man sighed heavily and replied "If we both leave they find out, but if I stay here and open my shop every day, she can get away, this is why they are angry."

Jaune felt his heart ache for the Pharmacist; he also missed his love. Every day he thought about Pyrrha, but at least she was safe in the US, this man's wife was alone in a refugee camp in Turkey.

"I'm sorry." Jaune said sadly

The man snorted and Jaune looked at him in confusion "What?"

The man walked close to him and replied "Here we say "The Mujahideen need to learn some _aklaq_ (Manners)" Understand?"

Jaune gave a small smile and said "Yeah."

The Pharmacist replied "It's just comforting that one had finally learned."

Jaune and the man, whose name he learned is Sayed, continue to talk until Jaune leaves and goes back to his unit's house.

The next day Jaune's unit are packing up a truck in order to go close to the frontline, Abu Omar said he had a surprise for the Mujahideen. While packing the truck Jaune heard shouting and saw a group of men and kids surrounding something. Jaune and Ziyaad walked over to the crowd and saw that a man wearing camo was being held by other Mujahideen. The _Hisbah_ ; the local enforcers of sharia law; were reading from a paper about the man in camo. Jaune couldn't hear them since the man was yelling loudly. Jaune didn't understand the man's language until he heard the man scream "Kurdistan!"

The man was a Syrian Kurd, probably a YPG fighter.

Ziyaad took out his phone and began to film the man

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked in disbelief

"I'm gonna post it bruv!" Ziyaad replied happily as if it was his birthday

A buff Mujahid took a large sword and cut off the Kurdish soldier's right hand. A sickening crunching sound erupted in the air, the man screamed in pain has blood gushed from his stump. Then the buff Mujahid cut the back of the Kurd's neck and poured salt on the wound. The Kurd was yelling in pain, spit writhing from his mouth. And with a slight nod of the _Hisbah_ , the buff Mujahid raised his sword and sliced the man's head off. Only grunts could be heard through the crunching and tearing of flesh that echoed through the crowd. Jaune felt like he was going to vomit when the Kurdish soldier's head rolled on the ground, the head covered in blood, with tears streaked down the face.

Ziyaad just chuckled as he stopped filming and posted it to the internet.

Jaune looked at the ground and then felt someone's eyes on him. He turned to see Abu Omar looking at him. Even through the sun glasses he wore, Abu Omar's stare hit Jaune's blue eyes. He then walked over and told Jaune and Ziyaad that it was time to go. They complied and walked back to the truck, hoping in and speeding off to the frontline.

"What the fuck was that?" Jaune thought "I know it's _halal_ (permissible) according to the sharia, but that man was a prisoner of war, he should have been treated kindly and humanely."

The _Hisbah_ enforced Sharia, shouldn't they know this?

 **11:00 pm**

Jaune and his unit settled in at their new base and did their own thing until Abu Omar asked Jaune to help him fix his truck. Abu Omar had, in today's battle, injured his arm and had it in a sling. They got to the garage and Abu Omar propped up the hood of the truck and fiddled with the inside. Jaune just handed him tools. After a while of silence Jaune broke it with a question.

" _Is it true that you were one of the commanders who captured Mosul_?" Jaune asked in perfect Arabic

Abu Omar simply responded " _yes_ "

" _They say_." Jaune continued " _That 600 defeated 24,000_."

Abu Omar replied " _We didn't defeat them, they ran away_." He switched tools " _It was Allah Subhan Wa'tallah and the enemy's fear that granted us victory_."

Jaune smirked and nodded and then something amazing happened

Abu Omar started to speak English.

"They left everything." He said "Tanks, Humvees, guns."

"I didn't know you spoke English." Jaune said in shock. Abu Omar smirked and replied "Little bit."

"Where did you learn?" Asked Jaune

"Camp Bocca." Abu Omar said bluntly.

Camp Bocca was where the Ba'athist army and party members were locked up in during the American occupation of Iraq, during the height of the insurgency."

"Oh, so you were in Saddam's army." Jaune replied in realization.

"Yes." Abu Omar said in return.

Jaune suddenly had an idea, he asked Abu Omar " _were you at the battle of Kobane_?"

"Yes." Abu Omar said again.

Jaune smiled and reached into his pocket taking out the picture of Omar, finally he would have some answers to where Omar was.

He showed Abu Omar the photo and asked " _Do you know my friend Abu Hamid Al-Junaid_?"

Abu Omar looked at the photo and replied "Yes."

Jaune smiled widely and asked "Do you know where he is?"

Abu Omar stopped fiddling with the truck and looked at Jaune in concern " _You don't know what happened to him_?"

Jaune felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and replied " _I keep asking people where he is and no one is telling me anything_."

Abu Omar sighed a deep sigh and simply said " _He died at the battle of Kobane_."

Jaune started to feel tears well up in his eyes, memories of Omar flashed through his brain of the young guy laughing and joking. It took a moment to compose himself and asked Abu Omar "Were you there when he died?"

Abu Omar went back to fixing the truck and said "Yes"

Jaune then asked "What happened to him? How did he die?"

" _He ran away_." Abu Omar replied in Arabic.

" _Ran away_?" Jaune repeated in confusion. Omar was killed, how could he have run away?

Abu Omar looked at Jaune and said in English "Deserter."

Jaune looked at Abu Omar in shock and could only ask "What?"

Abu Omar sighed again and replied in Arabic " _He was beheaded for being a traitor, I'm sorry_."

Jaune could only feel shock and misery, Omar really abandoned his fellow Muslim brothers? He had his head cut off! This wasn't real. Jaune couldn't move, he couldn't breathe.

Abu Omar put his good hand on Jaune's shoulder and comforted him by saying in English "You are different, you are brave, you won't run away."

It was late so Jaune went upstairs to his room where he found Ziyyad asleep and snoring away. He undressed and laid down on his bed, looking at the photo of Omar. He felt sadness that his friend was gone and anger that his friend has ran away like a coward.

Is this why people treated him with suspicion? Because he was Omar's friend?

Jaune tore up the photo in anger and threw in in the trash can next to his bed.

"I won't be like Omar, I'll fight and die for these people." He thought firmly.

He felt himself begin to weep bitterly as images of Omar, his family, friends and lastly Pyrrha flashed through his mind.

"What the fuck should I do now?"

In Remnant city, USA, Pyrrha thought the same thing.

"What the fuck should I do in order to get Jaune home?"


	8. Chapter 8

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

In the morning Jaune and his unit were led to a big prison by Abu Omar. Jaune could screaming and crying of many women. Abu Omar revealed that they had captured Yezidi women from a nearby village and were being sold as sex slaves to the Mujahideen. They were handed photographs of various women that said their names and ages. The women all had frowns and tear streaked cheeks. There were even girls as young as 8 or 9 being sold. Abu Omar was explaining the rules and Jaune translated.

"You can sleep with them now if they're virgins, otherwise you have to wait and see if they're pregnant." He translated. "If you buy her for your wife, for the kitchen and stuff, then you can't sleep with her."

The sounds of the women screaming in fear sent chills down Jaune's spine.

"You also can't sleep with them if they're another man's slave... or they're on their period."

Abu Omar then said one last thing that made Jaune sick in the stomach

"… You can also have sex with them even if they haven't reached puberty." He said quietly. "Also, if they're fifth sex, I don't know what that means though."

They then went into the next room and saw the women. There had to be at least 25 women standing together with chains on their legs. Their daughters were crying and hugging their mother's legs. Many other Mujahideen were shooting their Kalashnikovs into the air to scare and contain the restless women. Others were bartering with slave drivers on the prices of the slaves. Abu Ibrahim turned around and walked out of the room, bumping shoulders with Jaune on his way out. The rest of the unit walked forward to select their slaves. Jaune walked around until he saw a mother and daughter being bartered for. He saw the fear in the young woman's eyes as the fate of her daughter and herself was uncertain. Without a second thought Jaune walked forward.

" _I'll take both of them, how much_?" He said

Both men were taken aback and the slave driver replied " _Brother, you must be patient in case she is pregnant_." He then pointed to her young daughter " _But the girl_ -"

" _How much_?" Jaune repeated cutting the man off.

" _200 dollars_." The man said giving up.

Jaune pulled his money out of his pocket and handed the man 200 dollars. The slave driver then unchained the Yezidi woman and her daughter and Jaune walked out with them and found his unit waiting for him outside with their own slaves. They all hoped into the truck and sped off to their new homes. Now that they had female slaves they were all given their own houses stocked with food, running water, heat, electricity, internet and everything they could possibly need. It would be weird not living with his brothers, especially Ziyaad, but he could get used to it. Abu Ibrahim just sat in the back-seat fuming, Ziyaad turned to him and said

"You got a problem?"

Abu Ibrahim glared at Ziyaad and responded "Aye I do, this is rape isn't it."

Ziyaad got angry and barked "You calling the _Sunnah_ , rape!? You need to fear Allah _Akhi_ , slavery has been a part of Islam since the time of the Prophet _Sallalahu Aleyhi Wasallam_ (Peace be upon him)."

"I may be wrong." Debated Abu Ibrahim "But I don't remember a part of the Quran saying you can have sex with a woman because you defeated her husband in battle."

"You don't think there's slaves in the West?" Replied Ziyaad "What about housekeepers? What about no wages?"

Jaune decided to intervein "It doesn't have to be forever, if they convert they'll be set free."

"So, is that your plan is it?" The Scot replied harshly "Bring her to Islam by fucking her!?"

Jaune didn't respond and there was an awkward silence for the entire trip home. Jaune was the last one to be dropped off at his new house. It was a simple two-story house. Jaune motioned for the two Yezidis to enter his house. They walked inside, through the kitchen and got to the master bedroom. There were two beds and a bathroom connected to it. He motioned for the them to enter.

" _Please go inside the room_." He asked nicely " _Feel free to shower and clean up, I'll give you both privacy_."

They went inside the room and Jaune closed the door. He then took off his keffiyeh, gloves and battle vest. He set down his AK-47 and walked into the kitchen to prepare some food for the two Yezidis. He just cooked some lamb and some naan bread and put them on two plates. He picked up the plates and walked to the bedroom door, knocking on it. He didn't get a reply and entered to find the two girls sleeping together. He quietly tip towed in, setting down the plates on the bedside table, also pulling out two cans of soda out of his pockets and setting them down as well. He then left the room to go about his business.

 **8:00 pm**

Jaune was in the middle of evening prayers when he felt a person looking at him. After he bowed forward he turned to see the Yezidi woman staring at him. She then turned her head and walked inside. Jaune frowned as he felt conflicting emotions about the situation.

"What should I do with them?" He thought "I've never even kissed a girl, let alone have had sex! I always imagined my first time with Pyrrha."

He didn't want to have sex with this woman against her will, he especially wasn't going to have sex with her daughter! She was like 9 or 10 years old!

Jaune laid out some food for them and went to bed.

 **The Next Day**

Jaune had noticed that the young Yezidi girl had a red rash on her face and decided to visit his pharmacist friend Sayed to buy some ointment. After morning prayers at the local Mosque, Jaune went to Sayed and was handed a thing of ointment

"It says apply when necessary." Sayed said "I have no idea what that means."

Jaune nodded and handed Sayed money and he refused it saying "Please, it's alright."

Jaune put the money away and asked "Is there anything I can do for you in return?"

Sayed paused and asked "Do you have a phone that still works?"

Jaune nodded and handed Sayed his phone. Sayed went into the back of the store and dialed a number. After a few moments a person picked up. It was a woman. Sayed started to weep and started to say sweet nothings to the woman. He must of called his wife, the Christian woman that escaped.

Sayed hung up after a while and handed Jaune's phone back, thanking him. Jaune patted the man on the back and left. He then got a text from Ziyaad saying that Abu Omar needed to speak with his unit. He texted back his address and a truck came to pick him up. Jaune climbed in and it sped off. Abu Omar then turned to Jaune and said the location of where they would be staying for a while. Jaune turned around and relayed it to his unit.

"He says we'll be stationed near Deir Ez-Zour for a while." He translated.

Abu Ibrahim yelled "YES!" And the others looked at him in confusion.

"What's at Deir Ez-Zour?" Abu Ayoub asked

"Assad's army." Abu Ibrahim responded happily

They all smiled and yelled " _ALLAHU AKBAR_!"

Finally, they would kill those Ba'athist assholes that butchered innocent people.

 **9:00 pm**

Jaune returned home to find the Yezidi mother waiting for him with food on the table, made by her for him.

" _Ibtisam_." He said remembering she told him her name and her daughter Narim's name earlier " _You don't have to do this_."

" _You bought me_." Ibtisam replied angrily " _I'm yours now_."

" _I bought you in order to protect Narim, not for you to be my servant_." Jaune assured.

He then handed Ibtisam the bottle of ointment. " _For her face, Insha'allah it should help with the itchiness and redness_."

Jaune then sat down and began to eat. Ibtisam stared at the ointment and turned to leave until Jaune asked " _Where are you from_?"

" _Jihan, near Mosul_." She responded.

" _Is Narim's father there_?" Jaune asked through a mouth full of food.

" _I don't know, your people took him, he's gone_." Ibtisam said angrily

Jaune was silent and then said " _If you converted to Islam, you'd be free. I could give you money and you could go find him_."

Ibtisam said nothing and just stared at her feet. Jaune sighed and announced

" _I have to leave tomorrow and I don't know when I'll be back_."

Ibtisam looked at Jaune in confusion and asked " _To do what_?"

" _To fight_." Jaune responded bluntly.

Ibtisam just walked off in a huff, leaving Jaune to finish his meal alone.

In the morning Jaune woke up, got his gear, said goodbye to Ibtisam and Narim and left to join his unit. They were all picked up and went to Deir Ez-Zour. When they entered the town, a shocking scene emerged. Islamic State Mujahideen were rounding up all the men and cutting their heads off. One man had his head cut off in front of Jaune. The man had a pleading look on his face as a knife slit his throat. Headless bodies were everywhere and women were screaming. Mujahideen were taking selfies of themselves holding knives and heads. Jaune got angry and went to get Abu Omar, who was talking to a Syrian and a French Commander. Jaune interrupted their conversation by yelling

" _Didn't the Prophet Sallalahu Aleyhi Wasallam say, the retreating are not to be killed, brother? Whoever shuts his door is safe? I thought Allah was the most gracious, the most merciful_!?" Jaune was beyond pissed. They were breaking the rules of war according to the Sharia.

Abu Omar shrugged and responded " _You can't be merciful when you are trying to establish yourself, to take power you have to be like the wolf, there will be time for mercy later_."

With that he walked off. Jaune followed him angrily and Ziyaad walked up to him and asked "What's the matter?"

Jaune looked at Ziyaad and angrily responded "I thought we came here to defend Muslims, not kill them."

Ziyaad shook his head and said "These aren't Muslims Bruv, They're Shias."

Jaune couldn't believe his ears, had Ziyaad gone mad? There was little difference between Sunnis and Shias. They shouldn't kill fellow Muslims.

Jaune's unit and a French unit followed Abu Omar into a large warehouse and were led to a pile of dead men. They all had pale skin and smelled terrible. Abu Omar started to explain the bodies and the Syrian and French commanders translated for him in English and French.

"This is what we found when we came to the village, The Alawites say a mortar hit the village but this "mortar" kills only Sunnis, with a bullet to the head."

Abu Omar motioned towards the back of one of the corpse's head showing a bullet hole. Jaune was furious, had the entire world gone mad!? They were then led to another room where they found bodies on the floor covered in a white sheet. Abu Omar pulled it off and revealed the bodies of many women.

The Women all had a lifeless look in their eyes. They had bruises on their necks, breasts and thighs. Blood covered their bodies and semen could still be seen leaking out of their vaginas. Jaune started to shake he was so angry. Abu Omar continued to explain with the commanders translating

"Here are the women, we leave them as this even though it is _Haram_ (forbidden) you must see this! We leave them because you must see them! All these women have been raped! This is what we are fighting brothers! Remember this when you are called to fight in the way of Allah _Subhan Wa ta'allah_! Remember this room! And Remember what they did!"

Abu Omar pointed his finger and yelled " _TAKBIR_!"

Jaune and his fellow Mujahideen yelled in return " _ALLAHU AKBAR_!"

" _TAKBIR_!"

" _ALLAHU AKBAR_!

" _TAKBIR_!"

" _ALLAHU AKBAR_!"

Abu Omar calmed down and finished his speech saying " _And thanks be to Allah_."

Jaune felt even more determined to fight Bashar Al-Assad's evil Alawite regime.

They all went into a big room and Abu Omar started to draw on a white board about the plan to fight the Syrian army. There was some chatter amongst the Mujahideen until Abu Omar silenced them and explained his plan. The plan was translated into English and French.

"The Alawites are here at the paint factory." He circles a large rectangle signifying the factory. "The gates are made of steel and concrete, it's very strong. We attack tonight. The Martyrs will destroy the gate and open the path for the Mujahideen here, here and here." He drew three arrows pointing toward the factory drawing. Jaune looked out the window and saw barrels of TNT being packed onto trucks. He began to sweat, what if he were chosen? Could he really kill himself? He left the room with his unit, contemplating this.

It was night and they were all about to eat dinner when Abu Omar motioned for Abu Lut to stand up and lead prayer. The portly German smiled and stood up with his palms stretched out and said "Oh Allah, let this night be a night of victory, let this be a night of defeat for the Kuffar across the Islamic State, please let us achieve martyrdom on this blessed night! We have been mocked and cast out by others but lets us be green birds in Jannah tonight!"

"Amen" they all said and then finished the prayer with one last " _ALLAHU AKBAR_!"

After dinner they were able to get about an hour sleep until the fight. Jaune and Ziyaad set up their sleeping bags when Ziyaad pulled out his pistol and held it out to Jaune.

"Here _Akhi_ , I want you to have this." He said holding the pistol.

"No way." Replied Jaune "You'll need it for tonight.

Ziyaad gave Jaune a sad look and put it back in its holster. Why would Ziyaad offer Jaune his favorite pistol?

They then crawled into their sleeping bags and fell asleep.

 **1 Hour later**

Jaune woke up to gun fire and got out of his sleeping bag, it was time to fight. He turned to wake up Ziyyad and found his sleeping bag empty. Next to it he found Ziyaad's pistol and a note. He picked it up and it said-

Dear Jaune,

I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to tell you myself but, I've been chosen for the martyrs' brigade. I am so happy to have met you, you're like the brother I've always wanted. I hope we can meet again, in Jannah. My last moments on this Earth will be of me thinking about all the times we spend laughing, fighting, and walking together as one. My only regret is leaving my mother all alone in this world. Me and her, as well as yourself will meet again someday.

From Ziyaad

Jaune felt his eyes widen. No. Not again. He already lost Omar, he can't lose Ziyaad too. Jaune put the pistol in his belt and ran to Abu Lut.

"Where is Abu Nidal!?" He asked quickly.

"What?" Abu Lut asked in confusion.

"Ziyyad, where the fuck is Ziyaad!?" Jaune asked in frustration.

"You saw the briefing, and don't use real names." Abu Lut scolded.

Jaune grabbed his Kalashnikov and ran towards the frontline. Bullets came in his direction. He ducked near some rubble and shot his gun. He kept running and looking for Ziyaad until he found one of the trucks loaded with explosives. He ran next to it and found Ziyaad in the driver's seat.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" He demanded

Ziyaad just gave Jaune a blank stare and drove away, speeding towards the concrete gate. While going forward Ziyaad recited the Quran, getting himself ready to die. As he did this, bullets went through the windshield and hit him in the chest and stomach. He began to vomit blood and hunched over. "Jaune." He thought "Please remember me, my brother." And with that final thought he pulled a lever igniting the TNT.

Jaune stared in horror as the truck carrying his friend exploded in a fury of fire and debris. He felt tears run down his cheeks.

"NOOOOOOOO!" He screamed in sadness.

It was only momentary though as he felt a pain in his left leg and his stomach. He looked down and saw blood pouring out of his stomach and leg.

He had been shot.

Jaune fell to the ground and couldn't even scream, he just sat there waiting to die.

"No. Please. Someone help me! Ziyaad, Omar, Mom, Dad, Pyrrha! Help!" He thought in desperation.

Then the world went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

Pyrrha couldn't believe her eyes. After Jaune had called and said he was fighting with ISIS 2 weeks ago, she had explained the situation to his family, as well as the RWBY and JNPR gangs. They all reacted in shock and disbelief. Jaune's mother couldn't stop crying. Then about 10 minutes ago 2 FBI agents knocked on the Arc house's door. They had tracked Jaune's location and showed a video to the group. Jaune was dressed in black and interviewing men in Raqqa. He was speaking Arabic which shocked his family as well as RWBY and JNPR.

"What is Jaune doing there?" Asked Ruby in concern.

"Well Ms. Rose." Said one of the FBI agents "From the data we've gathered on him, he has joined ISIS because his old friend Omar Hussein has joined them as well. He had contacted people online about Omar's whereabouts but he obviously didn't learn about what happened to Omar."

"What happened to him?" Asked Weiss.

"He's dead." The second FBI agents said simply.

Everyone froze in shock.

"How did it happen!?" Demanded Pyrrha.

The first FBI agent sighed "Omar Hussein had refused orders during the battle of Kobane and tried to escape to Turkey, in order to make it to Europe, but was captured and beheaded."

The room fell silent as the news hit hard. Jaune was in Syria trying to find Omar but he was already dead before Jaune even arrived.

"What will happen to Jaune?" Asked Mr. Arc

"If he doesn't die and he tries to return to the United States he will most likely end up in jail for many years." The first FBI agent responded "It all depends on what war crimes he has committed."

After the FBI agents left no one said anything. Pyrrha noticed Jaune's dad leave the room so she decided to follow him.

"Are you alright?" Asked Pyrrha

Jaune's dad was silent before he replied "I will track down Jaune and go to Syria and bring him home."

Pyrrha was shocked and said "That's far too dangerous!"

"I know, but no matter where he is or what he's done, he's still my son." Mr. Arc said solemnly

Pyrrha thought for a second and looked at Mr. Arc with a determined face "I will come with you, I love Jaune and I will have him back home with me!"

Mr. Arc stared in shock as Pyrrha realized her bold statement, face flushing a bright red.

Mr. Arc smiled and said "okay, but it just has to be us."

Pyrrha smiled and replied "I understand."

Soon They would discover what Jaune has been through.

Jaune felt immense pain as he regained consciousness. He was being carried over someone's shoulder. He slightly held his head up and saw children holding AK-47s marching towards the front line. Were children really fighting in battle? These kids looked to be around 7 or 8! Jaune was then set in the back of a pickup truck. He lied on his back and saw that Abu Ibrahim was the one carrying him. The Scot pulled out some gauze and shoved in in his wounded stomach. He then gave Jaune a nod and jumped off, running back to the front line. Then Jaune felt another person being put next to him. It was Abu Lut! The man was obviously dead; there was a large hole where his left eye used to be, probably from and enemy sniper. He just stared at the blood flowing from the German's face until the truck stopped at a hospital. He was pulled out by other Mujahideen and put on a stretcher. He was wheeled into a waiting room where other Mujahideen were injured and moaning in pain. A Syrian doctor ran up to him and checked his wounds.

" _Can you feel this_?" The doctor asked pressing on Jaune's wounded leg.

" _No_." Jaune simply said, still in shock that he had been shot and that Ziyaad was dead.

He was then rushed into a room and had his clothes torn off. After x-rays were taken he was then greeted by the Syrian doctor. A female dressed in a full face Niqab came in and looked at his X-rays. She then felt his stomach and leg, to which he moaned in pain. He must have still been on an adrenaline rush, so now the pain was starting to come back.

" _It will need a skin graft_." She said to the doctor " _We can do it tonight_."

Jaune understood what she said but was tired of being left in the dark.

"Excuse me can you tell me what's going on? No one has told be anything." He said in English.

The woman's eyes widen and said "You have a compound fractur at the femur and you've lost a lot of blood and some muscle tissue." The woman had a British accent.

"Will I be able to walk?" Jaune asked in concern. He was worried he would lose the leg or lose the ability to walk.

"Gangrene is the biggest issue, we don't even have the proper drugs." The woman explained as she got out the anesthesia.

She placed a mask over Jaune's face and told him to count backwards from 100. Jaune got to 89 before he passed out again. He woke up in a hospital bed and felt stitches on his stomach and leg. The doctor came in and said the operation was a success, but he would need crutches until he could walk without feeling pain. He was given replacement black clothes and given a ride home back to his house. When he got there Ibtisam came rushing out and helped him inside.

 **8:30 pm**

Jaune was lying on his bed and Ibtisam was changing his bandages while Narin was sitting on the floor playing games on Jaune's phone. Jaune turned his head to look at Ibtisam and saw a terrible scar on her right arm.

" _Show me_." Jaune ordered gesturing to the scar

Ibtisam complied and held her arm close to Jaune. It looked like words; Arabic script.

" _What is that_?" Asked Jaune

Ibtisam said nothing and had a conflicted look on her face.

" _Tell him_." Said Narin looking at her mother

Ibtisam looked at Jaune and said " _It's the name of the man that owned me before you_."

Jaune looked at Ibtisam in shock. Some asshole had done that to her?

" _He had 8 women. He would line us up naked every morning... to decide which one he wanted that day. He would smell each of us to decide. The one's he didn't want would be taken by his bodyguards. We used to beg to be chosen... because the guards would beat us much harder_." She explained without any emotion.

Jaune turned his head back and just sat absorbing the information. Is this what the Caliphate truly believes? This can't be true! But Ibtisam wouldn't lie. Something is wrong in this place. He just looked at Narin who went back to playing games.

He turned back to Ibtisam and asked " _Were you able to protect Narin_?"

Ibtisam froze, looked at Jaune, and shook her head no and held back a sob. She couldn't even get a word out.

Jaune didn't ask anything else and fell silent, every day in this place is a living hell.

 **The Next Day**

Abu Jihad had called for Jaune to meet him at the prison in Raqqa. Jaune got dressed in his black clothes, strapped his AK-47 on his back and put Ziyaad's pistol on his belt. He had one crutch to lean on as he walked. He got a ride to the prison and chatted with Abu Jihad when he got there. He explained his wounds and about Ziyaad's death.

"So Ziyaad is a martyr. _Alhamdulillah_." Abu Jihad said with a proud voice.

"Yeah." Jaune said in a sad voice. His friend's death was still hurting him.

"How was he?" Asked Abu Jihad with an excited voice.

"He was fearless, _Akhi_." Replied Jaune.

They turned a corner and Jaune looked down at the lower level. There were men in orange jumpsuits trapped in cages. They all looked scared and angry.

"So, this is where you do all the torturing and stuff?" Jaune asked with sickening curiosity.

"No fam." Abu Jihad replied "Just chop a few necks and suddenly everyone's blessed."

Abu Jihad then led Jaune to a room in order to meet a prisoner.

"Who is this anyway?" Asked Jaune. He didn't know anyone that had been arrested.

"CIA" replied Abu Jihad simply.

Jaune didn't know any CIA members.

Abu Jihad opened the door and yelled in "FACE THE WALL!" And the prisoner turned around before Jaune got a good look. A strong, foul smell hit Jaune and he felt himself gag. This person must not get bathroom breaks because they had shit all over the floor. Abu Jihad put a bag over the prisoner's head and led him out. He put the prisoner in the back seat of a car and told Jaune to hop in the passenger seat. Jaune complied and Abu Jihad jumped in the front and drove the car forward. Another car got in front of them and they followed the car to a deserted location in the desert. Abu Jihad explained they were going to film a video with the CIA spy and upload it to the internet. And the person doing the talking would be a British man named Abu Muharib. He had been on the news and was a man many nations want dead.

"What's he like?" Jaune asked about the mysterious man.

"Okay, just don't talk about home though, the west doesn't sit well with him." Abu Jihad responded.

"But I thought he was from London?" Questioned Jaune.

"He identifies as an Arab, he's got a real problem with Brits and Americans." Abu Jihad warned.

They got to their location and got out of the cars. Jaune held the prisoner and walked him to Abu Muharib. The man had on a black balaclava and dressed in black Islamic clothing, similar to Jaune's. The other men set up a video camera and microphone. Abu Muharib then took out his knife and motioned with his head for the bag to be taken off the prisoner's head. Abu Jihad walked forward and took the bag off. Jaune felt his stomach drop.

It was Sayed, his friend that owned the pharmacy. The one that was being watched because he let his Christian wife escape.

Sayed squinted in order to get used to the sunlight and then his eyes widened when he saw Jaune.

Jaune could only just stare in shock. Abu Muharib spoke when the camera started rolling.

"America." He said "Your air bombardments in _Shaam_ (Syria) keep striking our people, so it is only right we keep on striking the necks of your people."

He then held Sayed's head and put a knife on his throat. Jaune couldn't look but Abu Jihad said "Eyes on him Bruv, he's watching."

Jaune looked up but squinted his eyes lightly. But Abu Muharib simply said "Cut."

The camera stopped filming and Abu Jihad handed Jaune the bag to be put back on Sayed's head. Jaune looked shocked but complied. He walked up to Sayed, who stared Jaune in the eyes with an emotionless expression, and put the bag back on. They then went to walk him back to the car when a voice said " _Come here_."

Jaune looked where the voice came from and saw it was directed to him by Abu Muharib. He walked forward to the man.

" _Who are you_?" Abu Muharib asked.

Jaune responded " _Abu Anwar, Akhi_."

" _Abu Anwar who_?" Said Abu Muharib.

Jaune took a moment to consider revealing his nationality and replied " _Abu Anwar Al-Amriki_."

Abu Muharib pulled down his balaclava and asked "Where in America?"

Jaune was shocked that the man revealed his face yet responded "Remnant, just an ordinary place."

The Briton just nodded his head and turned around to talk with the other men. Jaune turned around only to see Abu Jihad's frustrated expression. He wasn't happy Jaune revealed his nationality.

"What was I supposed to say?" Jaune asked angrily.

Abu Jihad said nothing as they walked back to the car and drove off. Abu Jihad then explained the video situation.

"It's how he gets then to be quiet for the camera; tells them what we're actually doing. It's just to get the governments to pay up. He keeps bringing them here and nothing happens; they get used to it so when the real time comes it looks good for the camera." He explained.

Jaune said nothing and they drove back to the prison. They took Sayed out and put him in a new cell. He was then pulled up to the ceiling by a rope and pully and was whipped repeatedly. He cried out in pain as blood flowed from his sides.

" _Stop_." Commanded Abu Muharib and the guards stopped whipping. Jaune then took a mug of water and helped Sayed drink. When he drank all the water Jaune stepped back.

" _Anything to say_?" Asked Abu Muharib mockingly.

" _I have repented. You are obligated to release me_." Sayed said firmly.

Abu Muharib smirked and responded " _I've told you before, there's no repentance if we have power over you_." He paused. " _Again_." He commanded and the guards began to whip Sayed again.

The guards finished and everyone left. Jaune snuck off and got some medicine and gauze. He then went back into the cell and pressed medicine on the wounds. There was a moment of silence.

"So, you were working for the CIA." Asked Jaune.

"No." Sayed hissed through the pain.

"They don't just torture people for no reason." Jaune responded.

Sayed paused and replied "They found dollars in my house."

Jaune was confused, everyone in the Islamic State used dollars. Sayed knew what Jaune was thinking and said "Yes I know, everyone uses dollars."

"So, what do they want?" Asked Jaune.

"THEY WANT NOTHING!" Yelled Sayed in frustration. "I told you their eyes are on me because I helped my wife escape."

Jaune felt the warmth of the Islamic State fade so much more. They were torturing his friend for nothing else but to save face? That is so fucked up.

Jaune finished cleaning Sayed's wounds and left for home. He was so conflicted and angry. What had his life become? This is what Omar must have felt and decided to leave.

 **9:00 pm**

Jaune was sitting at home with Ibtisam and Narin. He had explained what had happened today and was quiet for a while. Ibtisam put her hand on his arm in comfort. Jaune looked at his arm and said " _Sorry_."

" _You were far away_." She said.

" _Yeah_." Jaune muttered emotionless.

There was quiet for a few seconds before Jaune broke it.

" _Sometimes... I wish I could live in the desert and study under a Shaykh (Islamic teacher). Just read the Quran and be a shepard... That's all_."

Ibtisam stared at him with sympathetic eyes and stood up, kissing him on the head. She motioned for him to follow her inside. He complied and followed her into his bedroom where she sat on the bed.

Jaune was dense but got this message. Ibtisam wanted to comfort Jaune by having sex with him.

" _I can't_." He said.

" _Why not_?" Asked Ibtisam

" _Because it's what everyone does to you_." He felt sick thinking of how many men must have raped her.

She said nothing and stood up and closed the door behind them. She then stood in front of him and pressed her lips against his. He froze for a second and kissed back. He still loved Pyrrha very much, but he needed this. He needed something nice in this hellhole. They then removed all their clothes and made love on the bed.

 **Morning**

Jaune woke up naked in his bed, arms around Ibtisam who was also naked. Jaune got a text on his phone from Abu Jihad. He was wanted back at the prison. He got dressed and left without waking Ibtisam and Narin. When he got to the prison he was ordered to walk a prisoner. It was Sayed. They walked around the large open prison cell and talked.

"So why did you come to Syria?" Asked Sayed.

"… to answer Allah and his messenger." Jaune responded almost robotically.

" _Oh you who have believed, respond to Allah and to his messenger, when he calls to you to that which he gives your life_." Sayed said reciting the Quran.

Jaune just smirked and said nothing. His smile then dropped and revealed the truth.

"My friend was here, I lost contact with him around Kobane. I wanted to find out what happened to him." Jaune revealed.

"And did you?" Asked Sayed.

"Yeah, he died; beheaded as a traitor." Jaune grimly reported.

Sayed stopped walking and asked "At the time of Kobane?"

Jaune nodded in confusion and asked "What?"

Sayed continues to walk and responded "You shouldn't believe everything they tell you. Some of the first Mujahideen were unhappy when they were made to stop fighting Assad and start fighting their friends in the resistance. They tried to leave. There were executions every day at the time of Kobane."

"How did they die? Did you see them?" Jaune asked in shock.

Sayed said nothing and stared forward. Jaune turned his head and jumped slightly when he saw that Abu Muharib was in front of them.

" _What are you doing_?" He demanded.

" _Exercising the prisoner, Brother_." Replied Jaune.

Abu Muharib said " _Come with me_."

Jaune felt anxious but complied. He left Sayed and went to another part of the prison. Had he heard them talking? Would he be executed? They came to the door of a cell and Abu Muharib turned to talk to Jaune.

" _We captured 2 spies near the border_." He told Jaune.

Abu Muharib then put on his balaclava and opened the door. He motioned with his head for Jaune to enter. Jaune slowly walked into the room and looked at the 2 spies.

It was his father and a woman in a niqab.

Mr. Arc jumped out of his chair and ran to Jaune. "Thank God that you're still alive!" He yelled.

He then gave Jaune a big hug. Jaune didn't return the hug and just had a shocked look on his face. His father pulled back and Abu Muharib said " _This man says he is your father, is this true_?"

Jaune paused and said " _Yes_." Not taking his eyes off his dad. He then looked at the woman in the niqab.

"Who are you?" He asked in English.

The woman said nothing and took off her face covering. Red hair fell down her shoulders and back, pale skin was revealed and her green eyes became even more bright.

"Hello Jaune." Pyrrha said in a soft voice.


	10. Chapter 10-Final Chapter

Calibri- English

 _Italics- Arabic_

"I don't understand. You never were one to look for a fight. What kind of example have you set for your sisters!?" Mr. Arc scolded.

"I came to look for Omar." Jaune said simply

"Yeah and do you know what happened to him?" Asked Mr. Arc

"He was beheaded as a traitor to the _Khalifah_ (Caliphate). Replied Jaune. "He got what he deserved."

"You need to fear God for what you've done!" Yelled Mr. Arc

"No, YOU fear God! The _Khalifah_ has been established and it's _Fard Al-Alyn_ (religious obligation) to make _Hijrah_ (emigrate), it's not optional!" Argued Jaune.

"What about your duty to your parents or do you only follow the parts of the law that suit you? I read that Jihad is conditional on the consent of your parents!" Screamed Mr. Arc

"I'm not a child! And don't act like you understand my _Din_ (religion)!" Yelled Jaune.

Mr. Arc calmed himself down and pointed his finger at Jaune.

"When your mother and I were poor and destitute in the streets of Paris, America gave us opportunity and sanctuary. On my knees I gave thanks to God that my children would grow up in a land of safety. Never in my life did I think my own son, my own flesh and blood, would turn his back on the very same country that gave us refuge... You disgrace me." Mr. Arc scolded harshly.

"I'm sorry Dad but this is pointless. I'm not coming home. END OF STORY." Jaune said firmly. "It's good to see you, but it's best you go on your way."

Mr. Arc was shocked at his son's stubbornness and gave him a sad look.

"Your mother cries herself to sleep ever night, Jaune." He reported sadly.

Jaune looked at the floor and replied "I'm sorry but that's not my problem."

Abu Muharib intervened "Have you spoken to the police?"

Mr. Arc looked at Abu Muharib. "Listen to yourself. Why do you think I snuck out? They have our passports, we're watched every minute of the day. OF COURSE, I'VE SPOKEN TO THEM!" He then pointed at Jaune "I'd rather he be alive in an American prison than dead on a battlefield in this Godforsaken place!"

There was a moment of silence before Jaune finally acknowledged Pyrrha.

"What are you doing here Pyrrha?" Asked Jaune.

She walked to him and replied "Trying to find you. Please come home with us! We all miss you! Ruby won't stop crying, Yang hasn't been teasing or joking, Blake won't read, Nora isn't spunky, Ren is even more stoic, and even Weiss is sad and misses you! I can't imagine my life without you!" Tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Jaune I-I-I... I love you!"

Jaune felt his heart start to beat quickly. His face felt red and hot. This is it. This is his way out! He only has to come up with a plan to escape with them and he will finally leave this nightmare. Jaune then thought about Ibtisam and Narin. If he left then they would be sold back into slavery. They would get raped again and beaten. He couldn't leave them. He sighed and gave Pyrrha his answer.

"No, I'm not leaving. I hate America and everything it stands for. I will return only when the army of the Islamic State conquers it. _Insha'Allah_ the Black flag of _Tawheed wal-Jihad_ (monotheism and struggle) will fly over the White House." He said darkly.

Pyrrha wiped her tears and said "If I really will never see you again then I want to do this at least once." She then stood on her tiptoes, held Jaune's face, and kissed him deeply. Jaune was shocked and kissed back. After a few seconds they broke apart. Abu Muharib patted Jaune on the shoulder. "It's time to go." They turned to leave and Jaune gave one final farewell. "Goodbye dad... Goodbye Pyrrha. Thanks for everything." With that the door shut behind them.

Abu Muharib took off his balaclava and said " _You did well_."

Jaune sighed and replied " _They mean nothing to me now_." He then asked " _Will they be freed_?"

Abu Muharib chuckled and said in English "Don't worry they can go home." He then switched back to Arabic " _But I wonder how they found us? You didn't tell them, did you_?" He asked accusingly.

Jaune felt stressed from the question " _Of course not Brother. Why would I guide the American bombs onto my own head? No_."

Abu Muharib smirked and nodded. With that he left. Jaune turned around quietly and went into a separate room. When he was sure he was alone he stated to punch the wall in rage.

"GOD DAMMIT NO!" He yelled in anger. He had finally had enough. His father and first love had tried to save him but he refused. He was done. He would escape to Turkey tonight. Omar was dead and Ziyaad was dead. He had no reason to be here anymore.

He left the prison and found a car outside. He checked the glove compartment and found the keys. He started the car and left for home. By the time he got home the sun started to set. He jumped out of the car and went inside his house. He found Ibtisam and Narin sitting on his bed.

" _What is it_?" Ibtisam asked concerned by his loud entrance.

" _Pack your bags. I'm taking you to the border_." Jaune ordered.

They did just that and all hoped into the car. Jaune sped off, trying to get there as fast as he could. Ibtisam looked at him and said " _My family will reject us. We're soiled_."

" _Then don't go to your family_." He responded.

She looked at him with concerned eyes and said " _I want to stay with you_." Jaune said nothing and kept driving. " _Will you find us, if you can_?" She asked quietly.

" _Yes_." Jaune replied.

They finally got to the fence that separated Syria and Turkey. The sun had finally set and it was night. They all got out of the car and he gave Narim a big hug. Then he walked over to Ibtisam. She kissed him and then got a hug. " _God will be with you my lovely_." He said sweetly. They moved to go through the fence.

Then the headlights of a car lit up the darkness.

Mujahideen ran out and grabbed Jaune, dragging him to the car. He turned his head to see a man stand in front of Ibtisam and Narin. He pulled out a pistol and shot a crying Narin in the forehead. Blood and Brain matter splashed on the car. Jaune felt hot tears fall down his face. "NOOOOO!" He yelled in sadness. He struggled to escape the grasp of the two men holding him. Ibtisam looked at Jaune and yelled "JAUNE!" She then was also shot in the forehead. Her dead body falling next to her daughter. He continued to scream and cry as he was dragged to the car.

 **Many days later**

Jaune couldn't tell how long it had been since He tried to escape. He was locked up in the prison in Raqqa, where he was tortured daily. The pain of being whipped was nothing to the pain of seeing Ibtisam and Narin shot. Jaune was frequently taken to the desert in order to be filmed with Abu Muharib. Today was one of those days. He was knelt down in an orange jumpsuit with Abu Muharib standing behind him.

"Here we are burying another American crusader, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the rest of your armies. Come on we're waiting for you!" He exclaimed.

He then held Jaune's head back and put a knife on his throat. Jaune didn't know if this was the day they would behead him. It wasn't since Abu Muharib said "Cut." He then pulled down his balaclava and asked Jaune "So do you repent for your sins?" Jaune just glared at Abu Muharib.

"No, I don't. You are not a Caliphate. This is an evil and horrid terrorist organization. You stole the meaning of the Syrian revolution against Bashar Al-Assad and turned it into a never-ending nightmare! You call yourself Muslims but you do things that most Muslims would never dream of doing. Your existence is an insult to Islam and life itself. Allah will punish you for your crimes against humanity." He replied.

Jaune was then taken back to the prison where he would wait to die.

 **The next day**

Jaune was sitting in his cell just starting blankly at nothing when the door opened. Two men grabbed him and took him to another room. Abu Jihad was waiting for him. The men left the room to give them some privacy.

"Okay I've already gone on the line for you this time Bruv. You have one last chance to come back from this okay? After that the law takes its course." He said firmly.

"What do you mean? What chance?" Asked Jaune in confusion.

Abu Jihad cut off his hand ties and handed Jaune his clothes. "Get dressed and get ready to leave."

Jaune said nothing and dressed in his black Islamic clothing and tied his black keffiyeh around his head. He left with Abu Jihad to the desert. When they got there a man in an orange jumpsuit was kneeling with a bag over his head. Abu Jihad pulled out a large knife and held it out to Jaune. Jaune felt sick, they wanted him to behead a prisoner!?

"Mask up." Abu Jihad said firmly.

Jaune grabbed the loose fabric of his keffiyeh and wrapped it around his face, covering it. He then took the knife and walked behind the prisoner. Abu Jihad walked forward and took off the bag.

It was Sayed.

He was crying and silently praying. They must have told him that today he would die. The camera started to record and Jaune recited the script he was given. His voice shook as he said it.

"This spy has to pay for your actions, America! Him and his family are going to suffer the same way you have made our people suffer!"

He then put the knife on Sayed's neck and froze. This was it. All he has to do his cut Sayed's head off and he would be safe. He thought about his family and friends. What would they think? He dropped the knife and unwrapped his face.

"No, I won't do it!" He yelled. Men grabbed him and Abu Jihad picked up the knife.

"Make sure he doesn't look away!" He commanded as he put the knife to Sayed's throat. With a swift move of the arm Sayed's throat burst open in a bloody rainfall. He gagged and groaned as his neck started to crack as flesh was torn. Jaune could only watch in horror as his friend died a painful dead. He wanted to look away but they were holding his head in place. Abu Jihad then placed Sayed's head on his body. Jaune was then forced to the ground. He grunted in pain as Abu Jihad stood on him and held his head. A knife was placed on his neck.

"Any last words?" Abu Jihad asked.

"None for you, you fucking sadistic bastard!" Jaune growled in defiance.

Abu Jihad just smirked sickeningly and moved the knife on Jaune's throat. Pain shot through Jaune's body and he felt a hot liquid shoot from his neck. He cried in pain as he heard his bones crack and flesh tear. Everything started to become cold and his vison started to blacken.

"Mom, Dad, my seven wonderful sisters, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Ren, Nora... Pyrrha, I'm so sorry for everything. Please don't mourn me for we shall meet again someday."

With that final thought everything went black.

Jaune Arc was dead, his head placed on his body by Abu Jihad.

 **The End**

 **Author's Notes**

 **Thanks for reading my story, I promise the next one will be happier. I wanted to do this project because I felt Jaune's sense of duty and justice was similar to many that went to Syria to fight for what they thought was right. Again, I don't support terrorism nor any form of extremism. ISIS is an evil terrorist group that follows a distorted version of Islam. Don't let this story cause you anger of ordinary Muslims but anger at ISIS and other extremists that use religion to justify their evil intensions. Thanks again for reading my story and I'm looking forward to the next one!**

 **RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth and the late Monty Oum**

 **The State belongs to Peter Kosminsky and the UK's Channel 4**


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